Basic Trope: A character does not like it when other characters touch them.
- Straight: Dennis becomes angry when Sophie touches him, and tells her not to do it ever again.
- Exaggerated:
- Dennis has a mental breakdown whenever someone is in the same room as him.
- Dennis breaks Sophie's nose when she accidentally brushes against him.
- Downplayed:
- When Sophie touches him, Dennis looks uncomfortable, but doesn't say anything.
- Dennis doesn't like being touched by surprise, and takes less issue if Sophie announces her intention of touching him first.
- Dennis doesn't like being touched on a particular spot on his body.
- Dennis doesn't like being touched by anyone... except Sophie.
- Dennis has no issues on being touched under specific circumstances, like handshakes or being touched by his close family members. Other forms of touching, like being patted on the shoulder, is off limits.
- Dennis rolls his eyes and complains when Sophie touches him, but allows her to do so.
- During an emotional moment, Dennis accepts a hug, then gently pushes the hugger off him.
- Justified:
- Dennis is from a culture where touching is seen as a very intimate gesture, while he and Sophie are only acquaintances.
- Dennis is a prince from a culture where it's forbidden for a commoner like Sophie to touch a royal.
- Dennis is Terrified of Germs.
- Dennis is autistic and responds poorly when someone makes unexpected contact with him.
- Sophie Does Not Know Her Own Strength.
- Dennis has very sensitive skin, so physical contact can be painful for him.
- Dennis is a bit shorter than most girls he meets, meaning that if they hug him he’s often subjected to Marshmallow Hell.
- Dennis is a survivor of physical or sexual child abuse or domestic abuse.
- Dennis has haphephobia - the fear of being touched.
- Dennis is in a video game and Sophie is one of his enemies.
- Dennis had sustained a serious injury in the past, and having that spot touched brings up a lot of unpleasant memories of the event.
- Inverted:
- Dennis becomes upset whenever Sophie isn't touching him.
- Cuddle Bug
- Desperately Craves Affection
- Subverted: Dennis was actually trying to prevent Sophie from catching an illness he had.
- Double Subverted:
- Dennis made the illness up to deter people from touching him.
- Dennis' illness is too mild to have much impact on Sophie.
- Parodied: Dennis is a badass who walks through explosions without flinching and can defeat the most fearsome of villains with a single blow from his mighty sword ... Until one of them touches him, at which point he becomes a whimpering wreck.
- Zig-Zagged: Dennis is fine with some people touching him, but not others, and he's more tolerant of people touching him on some occasions than others.
- Averted: Dennis is fine with people touching him.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: "Dennis doesn't like people touching him."
- Invoked: Dennis wants Sophie to leave him alone, so he asks or tells her not to touch him.
- Exploited: Sophie touches Dennis so that he gets annoyed.
- Defied: "Alright, I'm going to let someone touch me, I seriously need to grow up as a person."
- Discussed: "Hey, why do you always get mad when people touch you?"
- Conversed: "This character really doesn’t like being touched."
- Implied: Dennis tries to move away from Sophie when she touches him, but he never mentions why.
- Played for Laughs: Dennis is best friends with Sophie, a Cuddle Bug. This becomes a Running Gag.
- Played for Drama: Dennis does not like being touched because he was abused as a child or worse.
Back to Hates Being Touched.
